National Book Award winner Nikky Finney speaking in Chattanooga

National Book Award winner Nikky Finney speaking in Chattanooga

Renowned poet Nikky Finney, recipient of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry, will hold a reading of her work followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing on Saturday, May 27.

The event will begin with a reception at 7 p.m. at Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects' office, 1216 E. Main St., Suite 120. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.

Finney was born in South Carolina, a child of activists who came of age during the civil rights and black arts movements. At Talladega College, nurtured by Hale Woodruff's Amistad murals, Finney says she began to understand the powerful synergy between art and history.

Her four books of poetry are: "Head Off & Split" (2011), which won the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry; "The World Is Round" (2003); "Rice" (1995); and "On Wings Made of Gauze" (1985).

She also authored "Heartwood" (1997), a collection of four inter-related stories, and edited "The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South" (2007).

She holds the John H. Bennett Jr. Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Letters at the University of South Carolina. She is a co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets.

Saturday's event is free, however registration is needed in order to ensure seating and light refreshments for everyone. Email the number of guests in your party to Earl-Braggs@utc.edu.